LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11)— It's the first performance in 10 years in what was once Squirrelly's Magic Tea Room, where comedy magician Larry Jones used to perform.
That magic theater and the rest of the building received special treatment in the grand opening of two buildings on the corner of Second and Main Streets Saturday evening.
The Whiskey Row Lofts include apartments, the theater, and reception space.
"You walk through this building and you see the original tile and original staircase and L&N railroad was based in this building, and you just go 'This is really cool,'" said Mac King, a comedy magician from Louisville who now routinely performs in Las Vegas.
The real magic--if you can call it that-- may lie in the history of this 130-year-old row of buildings. Saturday night’s grand opening at Whiskey Row Lofts celebrates a new beginning: the transformation of old to new.
"For us, it's a big deal to say we're here, we're finished," said co-developer Stephen Jones.
Jones, comic magician Larry's son, helped redevelop the two buildings where Whiskey Row Lofts reside in 14 months. He hopes to bring that same magic back to Main Street.
"It's part of everybody's local history here," he said. "We've got Whiskey Warehouse next door that's been renovated. This was the L&N headquarters, so this area is important. The whole block is important."
The event benefits local children's home and foster center Maryhurst.
A development group bought the five other buildings on Main Street, which need a lot of work. Construction is supposed to begin this month, but it could be up to two years before any tenants will be in the building.
